LeBron James is not a huge fan of the Dallas Mavericks. The team handed him one of the more disappointing moments in his very impressive career. Four years ago with the Miami Heat, James had one of his series of play in the NBA Finals against the Mavericks. He was held to 14.0 points per game on just 38.6 percent shooting in games 3-5. That resulted in the Mavericks winning the championship before Miami went on to win the next two. Now, James sees the Mavericks again, but in a different uniform as the two face off Tuesday night.
James would likely not want to remember that NBA Finals series. The Heat were heavily favored over Dallas and looked to meet expectations taking Game 1. However, they disappeared in the next few games which gave Dallas the win. Dirk Nowitzki took home MVP honors. Since then, James has gone on to average 32.2 points on 63.3 percent shooting against Dallas in the six regular-season meetings since that Finals series, but has yet to see them in a Cleveland uniform.
James was not active when the Cavaliers faced Dallas back on Jan. 4 as he sat out with knee soreness. Kevin Love scored 30 points in that game while Kyrie Irving had just six. The result was a loss at home. Cleveland is coming off a win against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday after falling to the Atlanta Hawks the day before. The team got rest after a long five-day stretch. James certainly showed how tired he was, committing 13 turnovers in those two games.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks are struggling right now as both Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis hit shooting slumps. Nowitzki is shooting just 39.9 percent in his last 11 games while averaging just 12.8 points. Ellis is putting up just 12.5 points on 27.5 percent shooting in his last four games. The Mavericks did get a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. The Mavericks have won their last 11 of 13 home games as they could use that for a momentum change with the Cavaliers.
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